


Give Me a Shot

by Skye_Maxwell



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Canon Universe, Confessions, Developing Relationship, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Rare Pairings, Romance, Shipping, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2019-10-03 12:33:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17284151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Maxwell/pseuds/Skye_Maxwell
Summary: A series of one-shots pairing off all of the members of the Investigation Team.Yes, all of them.





	1. Kanji x Souji: Two Men and a House

**Author's Note:**

> A while ago, I saw a P5 shipping challenge going around, which made me want to do something similar for P4. I think the P4 cast is the easiest to ship together, and I wanted to try something different than what I usually write. I’ll pair every member of the Investigation Team together (28 chapters/one-shots) in no particular order, and then I’ll probably throw in some… _surprises._ In the past I have written my way into shipping pairs that I didn’t previously, so I kinda want to see if that happens again, haha. I do feel a little sick breaking up my P4 Ultimate OTP™ for this (lol), but it's all in good fun (please forgive me! D':). 
> 
> This will probably be a long-term project for me, so grab a Rainy Day Special Mega Beef Bowl and stick around! :D

Souji and Kanji had been at it for— _hours,_ probably. They hadn’t really kept track of time since they started working on their gingerbread house, which was more like a gingerbread mansion at this point. 

It had started off simply enough earlier that day when they were bored and thought it might be nice to do something ‘holiday-ish’ together. As soon as they found the gingerbread kits at Junes, they knew exactly what they would be doing that afternoon.

They had grabbed a couple of extra kits with the intention of giving them to Nanako and Teddie, but now they were using all four kits to craft their masterpiece (hopefully there would still be more kits in stock next time they went to Junes). 

At first they were going to make a competition out of it, teasing each other about whose gingerbread house would turn out better (even though each one actually believed the other’s would be superior). However, it hadn’t taken long for them to scrap the competition idea and combine their efforts. They were both sufficiently crafty and trusted each other’s artistic choices when it came to the little details, while they carefully discussed each part of the overall layout as it got more and more elaborate. 

Sitting at Kanji’s kitchen table and glancing out the window above the sink, Souji was the first to become aware of how much time had passed. 

“Uh, Kanji?”

“One sec, Senpai,” Kanji said, very focused on piping icicles onto a side awning. 

Once he finished, he let out a breath he had been holding in, surveying his icicles proudly. He set his piping bag down and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm, getting some icing on his forehead. 

“Don’t that look great?!” 

Souji stood up from his chair and made his way over to Kanji, handing him a clean rag. 

“You’ve got some icing on your forehead,” Souji said, smiling. “It does look great. You’ll have to do the icicles on my side too.”

“No problem, Senpai!” Kanji said enthusiastically, wiping his forehead and realizing there was a layer of sweat under the icing. “Man, I’ve been real focused on this thing.”

“Yeah, so have I. The sun was a bit higher in the sky when we started.”

Kanji looked out the window and exclaimed, “Holy shit! It’s pitch black out! The hell?”

Souji chuckled and placed a hand on Kanji’s bare shoulder (even though it was cold in the house, Kanji had stripped off his long-sleeve shirt long ago in favor of being able to move his arms around more freely). 

“Uh… Senpai? Your hand's kinda sticky.” 

“Oh, sorry,” Souji quickly apologized, not realizing just how sticky his skin had become from handling so much candy. He pulled his hand away but was immediately taken aback at the layer of powdered sugar he left behind on Kanji’s shoulder. 

He grabbed the rag that Kanji had set down on the table to wipe at his shoulder, but to his horror, he only left a trail of chocolate sauce that the rag had picked up. 

“Oh no…” 

As Souji kept trying to clean off his shoulder, Kanji asked shyly, “What're you doin’, Senpai?”

“Making a bigger mess,” Souji said apologetically, tossing the offending rag back onto the table. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Kanji said, looking down at himself and realizing his clothes were already covered in icing, sprinkles, and all manner of sugary decorations. He then looked up at the whole of the kitchen table, his eyes going wide. “Damn, we really did make a mess!” 

The gingerbread house itself was neat and tidy, but it looked like a tornado had thoroughly decimated the neighborhood around it. 

Souji offered, “I’ll clean it up.” 

“You sure as hell ain’t gonna clean it all by yourself,” Kanji said, gazing at their unfinished creation. “But we ain’t cleanin’ until we finish this thing.”

“Okay,” Souji agreed, stepping behind Kanji and wrapping both arms, stickiness and all, around Kanji’s shoulders. “But let’s take a break first.” 

Kanji immediately tensed up at Souji’s touch, gritting his teeth as he felt heat spreading through his face and down his neck. 

He’d had feelings for his senpai for quite some time, but he had never thought anything would come of it. Kanji still couldn’t believe they were in an actual relationship now, and every time Souji showed him physical affection like this, it freaked him out a little, like he was having some sort of hallucination. 

Kanji was pretty sure Souji had wanted to kiss him a few times since they started dating, but every time Kanji had seen Souji maintaining eye contact and inching closer, he had made some sort of crazy excuse and frantically fled the scene. Kanji had never kissed anyone, and he was definitely intimidated by the thought of kissing someone as amazing as his senpai. 

He could just picture it: smashing his nose against Souji’s and breaking it, accidentally biting Souji’s lip and making it bleed, trying to hold Souji’s face and crushing his skull… or worse, misreading Souji’s intentions and kissing him when he didn’t want to be kissed, effectively ruining their relationship. And that was the _last_ thing he wanted. 

Souji leaned over Kanji’s shoulder to look more closely at his detail work. 

“Is that a flower box?” Souji asked, pointing underneath one of the windows. 

“Yeah. I thought maybe I could get you to put some poinsettias in there to match the rest of the decorations, since you’re so good at flowers and stuff.” 

“I would love to,” Souji said, squeezing Kanji a little more tightly. “I’m impressed, Kanji. This is turning out to be really beautiful.”

Momentarily distracted, Kanji leaned back into Souji’s embrace and said, “Man, I wish we could blow it up.”

Souji shifted to look at the side of Kanji’s face. “You don’t like it? I mean, I know it’s not perfect, but I don’t think that means we should destroy it—” 

“N-no, not like that! I mean make it bigger, like I wish we could blow it up and live in it.”

Now Souji was the one blushing, looking at Kanji in surprise. 

“What? Did I say somethin’ stupid?” Kanji asked, used to people going silent when he said weird shit. 

“No, not at all. You said something really sweet,” Souji said, beaming. “Hey, what do you say we make some dinner and whip up a quick batch of gingerbread cookies?”

Kanji laughed loudly. “You seriously want more gingerbread?” 

Souji nodded, resisting the urge to press a kiss to Kanji’s temple. “Yeah, I have an idea.”

A few hours later, they were both asleep at the table, their chairs pushed together and the side of Souji’s face resting on Kanji’s still-sticky shoulder. 

The kitchen was still a terrible mess, but their immaculate gingerbread mansion was finally complete. On the front porch were two happy gingerbread men in matching Christmas sweaters: one gingerbread Kanji and one gingerbread Souji. 

When Kanji wasn’t looking, Souji had piped in an icing mistletoe above their gingerbread heads, chuckling to himself as he imagined a flustered Kanji eventually noticing the added detail. 

Kanji’s reaction would be worth the effort, but if Kanji also got the _hint,_ that would be icing on the… gingerbread house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought the holidays were finally over? THE HOLIDAYS ARE NEVER OVER! (I watched too many baking shows in December...)


	2. Yosuke x Rise: Get Ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re not familiar with Kanami Mashita and the girls of Kanamin Kitchen, they’re idols like Rise who are featured heavily in P4: Dancing All Night. I just played it for the first time last month when the Endless Night Collection came out, so it’s fresh in my mind. They’re in this chapter, but barely, so you don’t need to have played the game to read this.

_“Ohhh, Rise!”_ Kanami sang, bursting into Rise’s dressing room. 

Rise sighed, seeing the younger idol in the reflection of her vanity mirror. How she could still have so much energy after a huge performance was a mystery to Rise, whose energy was so depleted she didn’t even feel like turning her body to look at the other girl. 

“Kanami, what did I tell you about knocking first?” Rise scolded lightly, glad she hadn’t started taking off her Risette outfit yet. 

“Oh, I forgot again! Sorry!” Kanami apologized. “But I have good news!” 

“What’s that?” Rise asked, a little concerned since Kanami’s definition of ‘good news’ tended to be much different from her own. 

“Your biggest fan is here!” Kanami announced, waving her arms excitedly. 

“What kind of biggest fan?” Rise asked, narrowing her eyes. “Cute or creepy?”

Risette had all kinds of ‘biggest fans’ from adorable little girls sporting her signature pigtails to weird middle-aged dudes who looked (and smelled) like they hadn’t showered in… _ever._

“Umm,” Kanami hummed playfully, looking out into the hallway at the person in question. “A little of both, I think!”

“Hey!” a loud voice protested. 

“Yosuke?!” Rise yelled, nearly toppling out of her chair. 

Suddenly reenergized, she ran toward the door with such intensity that Kanami yelped and jumped out of the way. 

“Yosuke!” Rise yelled again as soon as she spotted him through the doorway, and then she was crashing into him at full force. 

He was ready though (he had quickly learned to properly brace himself for Rise’s affection), and he caught her in his arms.

“Hey there,” he greeted, chuckling and pressing a dramatic, noisy kiss on top of her head. 

“Annnd that’s my cue to go!” Kanami said with her trademark cheerful awkwardness. “I’ll see you two lovebirds later!” 

With that, she scurried away, and Rise pulled Yosuke into the room, shutting the door behind him. 

“What are you doing here?” Rise asked, lacing her fingers behind Yosuke’s neck and looking up at him. “You didn’t tell me you were coming!” 

“Surprise!” he said, holding her close and winking. “Your biggest fan just had to come see Risette’s big performance!” 

“Wait, what are you _wearing?”_ Rise asked, looking down at Yosuke’s t-shirt. 

“You don’t recognize it? It has your face on it!” 

“You seriously bought the tour t-shirt?” Rise asked, looking at her name in giant letters across his chest. ‘Risette feat. Kanamin Kitchen!’ the colorful design practically screamed. 

“Of course I did!” Yosuke said, sporting the gaudy shirt proudly. 

“You know I could have just given you one, right? The price they charge for those things is ridiculous.” 

“But what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t support your tour?” 

“A great one, because that’s what you are all the time, goofball,” Rise said, lightly flicking him on the forehead. “But wait, I thought you couldn’t come because you had to work late tonight?” 

“I was supposed to, but after literal _weeks_ of being awfully nice to the new guy, I finally convinced him to cover for me at the last minute.”

“The new guy?” Rise asked, frowning. “Not the one who has a thing for you, I hope?” 

Yosuke sighed, looking a little embarrassed. “Well yeah, he’s the only new guy.”

Rise pouted up at him. “Well, you better stop being nice to him after this!”

“Are you jealous?” Yosuke asked with a grin. 

“Of course I am! That guy better be able to take a punch, because if I ever catch him making eyes at _my_ boyfriend, he’s gonna catch a knuckle sandwich to the teeth!” Rise threatened, balling her hands into fists behind Yosuke’s head. 

“Hey, don’t worry about him,” Yosuke laughed. “He’s harmless.”

“Don’t be naïve, Yosuke! No one is harmless.” 

Smirking, Yosuke asked, “Not even you?” 

_“Especially_ not me,” Rise said, rising on her toes and pulling his lips down to hers. He had certainly gotten taller since they first started hanging out in high school, but Rise was never one to let that deter her. 

Yosuke pulled away with a big smile on his face, and then he handed Rise a bouquet of flowers that she hadn’t even noticed in her race to ambush him. 

“So, how about these ones?” he asked. “Pretty, right?” 

The small flowers were a deep violet and were grouped in clusters along tall stems, a dozen of which were wrapped together with a purple satin ribbon.

“They’re gorgeous, Yosuke!” Rise praised. “These are definitely my favorite.”

Yosuke gently ran his hand through her hair, twirling the ends around his fingers. “You say that every time.”

When they had started dating, Yosuke had asked what her favorite type of flower was, but Rise didn’t really have a favorite. Ever since, Yosuke had gone out of his way to always get her a different type of flower so that maybe one day they would find her favorite. 

Rise knew it was cliché and that some people thought cut flowers were wasteful, but she absolutely _loved_ getting flowers from her boyfriend. After dozens of bouquets, Rise still wasn’t sure she had a favorite type of flower (they were all so different and all so pretty), but she would always tell Yosuke that the latest bouquet was her favorite. 

“You know I mean it every time, right?” Rise asked, walking the flowers over to her vanity where she kept an empty vase. 

“I mean, it _is_ a little hard to believe that you think every new flower is prettier than the last,” Yosuke admitted, turning on the sink for Rise so she could fill the vase. “What about those daisies I got you for your birthday? You really liked those, didn’t you?”

“I loved those,” she said, placing the flowers in the vase and holding it up in front of Yosuke. “But _these_ are my favorite.”

Yosuke shut the water off and watched as Rise set the vase back on her vanity, moving each stem of flowers around a bit so they would look their best. 

“If you say so,” he said, happy to hear it even if it didn’t quite make sense to him. 

Standing back and admiring the flowers, Rise said, “You always say you love me more and more all the time. Is that true?”

“What?” Yosuke said worriedly, stepping in front of Rise. “Where is that coming from? Of course it’s true!”

Rise took both of his hands in hers, looking up at him affectionately. “Well, it’s true for me too. And if both of us love each other more all the time, then every time you get me flowers, it’s at the point when we love each other the most. And that’s why whatever flowers you get me are always going to be my new favorite.”

Yosuke was clearly stunned, not saying a word as the look in his eyes became like that of someone trying to do a complex math equation and coming up with an answer that was a color instead of a number. 

Suddenly, Yosuke dropped her hands and turned away, which immediately freaked Rise out. 

“Sweetie?” Rise asked, taking hold of his waist from behind and peeking around him until he turned back to face her.

“Sorry, I’m fine,” he apologized, his face completely red as he took a few deep breaths. “You’re just… you’re just way above my level, you know that?”

“That _was_ pretty romantic of me, huh?” Rise said, pinching his cheek and wiggling it around until he broke out into a laugh. “I wouldn’t say I’m above your level, though. Let’s just say we’re both at a very high level.”

“I guess I can agree to that,” Yosuke said, leaning down to kiss her again. 

Rise pulled him closer, feeling incredibly light and happy. 

Suddenly the dressing room door burst open again. 

“Rise! Yosuke! The girls wanted to know if you both wanted to come to dinner with… oh! You’re kissing!” Kanami squeaked, looking horrified. 

After regretfully pulling away from Yosuke, Rise cried, “Kanami! You’re supposed to knock!”

“Oh geez, I forgot again! I’m so sorry! And you just reminded me earlier, too!” Kanami muttered to herself, “Seriously, how could I forget so fast? I was just so excited, and…” 

Since Kanami was occupied with her one-woman conversation, Rise asked Yosuke, “You wanna go to dinner with them?” 

“That’s fine with me if it’s fine with you,” Yosuke said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking down so Kanami couldn’t see his flushed face.

“Hey! Earth to Kanami! We’ll go to dinner with you.” 

“You will? Yay!” Kanami cheered. “I’m so happy!” 

“Just give me a little time to… get ready,” Rise said, looking at some of her extra-shiny lip gloss that had come off on Yosuke’s lips.

“Okey dokey! I’ll go tell the girls! They’ll be so excited! Oh, and sorry about the not-knocking thing again. Next time! I will knock next time. Okay, bye!” she called out before slamming the door shut, clip-clopping down the hallway in her heeled boots as she ran away. 

“She’s such a handful,” Rise sighed, worried the interruption had dampened the mood. 

“Do we have a friend who _isn’t_ a handful?” Yosuke asked, tilting her head up with his hand.

Rise wracked her brain and came up surprisingly short. “Maybe… Nanako-chan?” 

Yosuke’s laughter filled the entire dressing room. “That sounds about right.”

Feeling lighter once again at the sound of his laughter, Rise smiled and pushed him back against her vanity. 

“Time to get ready?” Yosuke asked with an amused smile. 

Rise confirmed with a giggle, “You know it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The flowers Yosuke gives Rise are delphinium, which according to a handy chart on flower meanings symbolize “big-heartedness, fun, lightness, levity, and ardent attachment.” I thought that was fitting for them. I’m a sucker for the language of flowers in fics, heh. 
> 
> Side note: if there’s anyone you’d like to see Kanami paired with, let me know!


	3. Teddie x Yukiko: Good, Better, Best

Yukiko held on tightly to Teddie’s hand as they made their way down the aisles of the store for three distinct reasons. 

First, she didn’t want him to wander away, because if allowed to follow the path of his distractions, he could end up clear across the city. 

Second, the last time they had gone clothes shopping, he had completely filled his arms with a mountain of clothing for Yukiko to try on, which they then had to spend an hour putting back. 

And third, she just liked holding his hand. It was a nice hand, after all. 

Teddie swung their hands between them, making a beeline toward the women’s dress section.

“Dresses! Dresses!” Teddie chanted. “Let’s look at dresses!”

“For me or for you?” Yukiko giggled, allowing him to pull her forward. 

“For you! This time…” Teddie said, trying his very hardest to keep his budget and the lack of room for more dresses in Yosuke’s closet in mind. 

He and Yukiko had argued briefly about him buying an outfit for her, but he had convinced her that she couldn’t waste his efforts of being such a good bear and saving up his Junes money.

“You have to look your beary best for your bear-thday bash, after all!”

“I’m still a little hesitant about having a big party,” Yukiko said, “but I do think I’d rather have something planned than a surprise.” 

Teddie’s initial intention was to throw Yukiko a surprise party, but he wasn’t the best at keeping secrets and Yukiko had found out rather quickly. She appreciated the thought though, and so they had worked together on planning a party that wasn’t too wildly extravagant but definitely not modest—somewhere right in between Teddie’s and Yukiko’s tastes. 

“I _did_ want to see the look of surprise on Yuki’s face when she saw the results of all my top-secret planning, but now I think it’s more fun to do this together! Right?”

“Yes,” Yukiko agreed with a smile. “Spending time with you is always a lot of fun, Teddie.”

“My my, such sweet words from my sweet! I’m blushing!”

Yukiko turned to look at Teddie’s face. “Oh, you really are blushing. You’re very cute when you blush.”

“Eeeep! My heart! My heart can’t take it!” Teddie cried, clutching his chest. “If only I had known when I was growing this beautiful body that Yuki would love me one day, I would have grown my heart three times bigger to fit all the love in it!”

Yukiko laughed at Teddie’s silly yet touching sentiment. 

Nowadays she was laughing more loudly and much more frequently, not caring who was around to hear it. For most of her life, she would barely show any emotion at all in public, but now, she did as she pleased. It was such a freeing feeling; it made her feel powerful, even. 

Yukiko was always amazed at how spending so much time with Teddie managed to make her more human. He embraced the best parts of humanity and lived in that freedom, and it was honestly beautiful. Teddie didn’t apologize for existing and having an opinion and expressing his many big feelings, and now Yukiko didn’t either. 

“All right, this is our section,” Yukiko said, bringing Teddie to a stop in the aisle that had her dress size. “Let’s each pick one dress at a time for me to try on, okay?”

“One dress at a time. One dress at a time. Got it!” Teddie confirmed aloud, having found this was the best way to keep himself focused when he was given instructions. 

“All right. Have at it,” Yukiko said, letting go of Teddie’s hand and releasing him into the wild. 

Teddie skipped to the far end of the aisle, and Yukiko set to thumbing through the dresses closest to her. 

She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for yet; she only knew she didn’t want something red. It was still her favorite color, but she had been trying to branch out a bit lately. She looked down at the pale yellow sweater she was wearing and decided to see if she could find something in a similar color since she thought it looked pretty good on her. 

She was halfway down the aisle when she found a dress in a similar shade. It looked more ‘spring picnic’ than ‘winter birthday bash’ to her, but she figured she could dress it up. It seemed like a safe choice, and so she started heading toward the dressing room. 

Surprisingly, Teddie hadn’t picked out anything yet. As Yukiko approached him, she heard him saying repeatedly as he went through the dresses, “Not good enough for Yuki. Not good enough for Yuki. _Definitely_ not good enough for Yuki!”

He was rather fixated on his process of elimination, so Yukiko just giggled and walked past, leaving him to it. 

A few minutes later as Yukiko was tying the bow on the back of the yellow dress, she heard Teddie yell, “I found it! It’s perfect! Yuki, I found it!”

“Okay, one second. You have to look at this one first,” Yukiko called through the dressing room door as she looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted the dress. “I think you’ll like it.”

“Hurry, Yuki! I can’t wait!”

“Coming,” she said absentmindedly, nodding at her reflection and blowing out a deep breath. She pushed open the door, and Teddie was right there, bouncing up and down with his choice of dress hidden behind his back. 

“What do you think?” she asked him, trying to sound confident. 

“Yuki…” Teddie said softly, but then he yelled in outrage, “That dress is _boring!”_

“Boring?” Yukiko asked, slightly offended. “It’s cute, it fits me well, and I think this color looks good on me.”

“Every color looks good on you! When you’re crazy bear-utiful, you can wear a wooden barrel and look good. We don’t want _good._ We want _better!_ We want _best!”_

Teddie was always calling Yukiko beautiful (and every synonym for the word he could come up with), and if it was anyone else, Yukiko might have been annoyed. He was so genuine though, and she knew beyond a doubt that his love for her went beyond her appearance. He just also happened to _really_ enjoy her appearance. He’d always been very visual (he’d even made himself beautiful, after all), so she didn’t mind. 

“Then what do _you_ have?” Yukiko challenged, putting her hands on her hips. 

“BAM!” Teddie shouted, swinging the dress out from behind his back.

Yukiko stepped back, taking in the whole of the dress. 

It was _gorgeous._

She never would have picked it for herself, but its beauty was undeniable. It was a lovely shade of gold, making the yellow dress she was wearing look dull in comparison. The long sleeves and collar were sheer, the bodice was fitted, and the skirt flared out at the waist in layers of tulle that would fall just below the knee. There were patterns of intricate needlework all around the dress, including little gold applique leaves and flowers that somehow managed to look subtle. 

“Teddie…” Yukiko said, still admiring the dress and kind of impressed that Teddie hadn’t chosen something completely gaudy. “Don’t you think that’s a bit much? It’s almost _too_ pretty.”

“Nonsense! Nothing is too pretty for my Yuki! Imagine making a grand entrance in _this._ No one will be able to take their eyes off of you! And then I’ll have to beat them all up for staring at _my_ Yuki, especially those pervs Yosuke and Kanji. And Sensei, who is surprisingly the biggest perv of all! It’ll be so fun! Try it on, please? Please try it on? Please?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll try it,” Yukiko said, complying mostly for his sake but also secretly a little curious how it would look on her. 

Once the dress was on, she looked in the mirror, and her mouth fell open a bit. She didn’t want to be vain, but she looked _good_ in gold. No, she looked _best_ in gold. 

“Teddie!” she called, bursting through the dressing room door and hitting him in the face. 

“Owie!” Teddie cried, rubbing his nose. 

“Oh, sorry!” Yukiko exclaimed, pulling his hand away from his face to survey the damage. 

“I’m okay,” Teddie said as she held his reddened face worriedly. “I don’t mind getting hit in the face if it’s by you.”

“That’s silly, Teddie. Please don’t stand so close to the door next time,” she said, kissing the tip of his nose. 

“Whoa, my nose feels better already! Yuki’s lips are magical!”

“Shut up,” Yukiko laughed, letting go of him and stepping back. “So, how do I look?”

Teddie’s eyebrows shot up almost comically, and he said, “You look like a miracle.” 

“A miracle?!” Yukiko asked, covering her mouth and blushing. “Don’t exaggerate like that, Teddie!”

The already-excited Teddie was swiftly reaching a dangerous level of enthusiasm, and nothing was about to bring him down. 

“S-so p-pretty!” he nearly wept. “I’m so happy! Ooh, we can put your hair in a braid crown and get some sparkly, dangly earrings and put some bright red lipstick on those magical lips, and you’ll look like the modern-day princess this kingdom deserves! And _I_ am your prince,” Teddie crooned, grabbing her hands and twirling her around. 

Before she knew it, they were waltzing down an aisle, spinning each other and laughing wildly. 

Yukiko gasped through her laughter, “Why are we dancing in a department store?” 

“Because we’re happy!” Teddie replied, and it was as simple as that. 

Completely caught up in Teddie’s merriment, Yukiko found herself asking, “Can we dance like this at my party?” 

“It would be my honor, my princess!” 

“Thank you for accepting my invitation, my prince!” she replied, tears forming in her eyes at how ridiculous it all was. 

And yet, she was also profoundly happy, in a way that went all the way down into her soul. 

“Teddie?” she said, hugging him close and placing her head on his shoulder.

Sensing the change in mood, he immediately slowed down, returning the hug and burying his face in her hair. 

“Yes, Yuki?” 

She said playfully, “You’re good.” 

“Just _good?”_ Teddie hummed tenderly.

Yukiko laughed and shook her head. “You’re the _best.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just base this one-shot off of 2003 pop hit “Why Not” by then-teen idol Hilary Duff? Yes, yes I did. I actually thought of this song when I was trying to come up with a title for this whole fic (Make everyone date each other? Why not? XD), but then I thought it would work for these two.
> 
> _“You always dress in yellow / When you wanna dress in gold / Instead of listening to your heart / You do just what you're told”_
> 
> And then I found this gem in the song, which makes it perfect for them: 
> 
> _“Why not / Take a star from the sky / Why not / Spread your wings and fly”_
> 
> Because Teddie’s arcana is Star, and in Yukiko’s dungeon, she was in a bird cage?! SERENDIPITOUS.


	4. Rise x Naoto: The Scientific Method

Just minutes ago, Naoto had been doing some research on her laptop when she came across an article with the heading: “Pop Idol Risette Goes Missing: Help Us Find Her!” 

Now she was running down the sidewalk toward Rise’s apartment.

She hung her phone up in frustration as she continued to run: five calls and Rise still wasn’t answering. 

Naoto’s grandfather’s place wasn’t far from the apartment Rise was staying in, so after the first two unanswered calls, she had opted to just go over there herself. Naoto knew that Rise wasn’t scheduled to work that night, and she also knew that Rise was always on her phone, so the fact that she wasn’t answering was quite concerning. 

Still, Naoto couldn’t believe that Rise had gone missing. Somehow, Naoto would have known; her intuition was strong, and she would have _felt_ it if her friend was truly in danger. 

Arriving at the relatively modest apartment building, Naoto climbed the stairs up to the third floor in record time and started banging on the door with her fist, not caring about potentially disturbing the neighbors. 

No answer. 

Naoto pressed her ear against the door, but there was no noise coming from inside. 

She went to look in the window, but Rise had thick privacy curtains covering it. Naoto couldn’t even see if the lights were on inside. 

Naoto returned to the door and started banging on it again.

“Rise!” she shouted. “Are you in there?”

Rise’s voice came out small and confused. 

“Naoto?”

Naoto huffed out a sigh of relief, resting the top of her head against the door. 

“Yes, it’s Naoto.”

“What are you doing here?” Rise asked, sounding closer to the door now. 

“Can you open the door, please?” Naoto asked, straightening up. For some reason, she just needed to see Rise with her own eyes. 

The lock clicked open, and the door opened inward. Rise peeked out cautiously, holding her towel up with one hand. 

“Thank goodness,” Naoto said, surging forward and wrapping Rise in her arms. 

Rise’s skin was warm under Naoto’s touch, and her hair was wet. 

_She didn’t answer her phone because she was in the shower,_ Naoto thought, starting to feel embarrassed. 

After swinging the door shut behind Naoto and locking it, Rise asked, “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I came to make sure _you_ were okay,” Naoto said, pulling away. 

“Me?” Rise asked. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“I can explain after you get dressed,” Naoto said, averting her gaze. “I apologize for interrupting.” 

“Naoto, if I’m in some sort of danger, you need to tell me now!” Rise said, stepping in front of Naoto so that she had to look at her. 

Her hair was down and still dripping, making pools on the floor near Naoto’s shoes. 

“You’re fine,” Naoto said quickly. “I mean, you’re not in any danger. At least, I don’t believe you are. Please put clothes on.”

“Fine, but you better explain yourself after I get dressed. When I heard you pounding on my door like that, I thought you were some crazed fan! And was that you blowing up my phone?”

“Yes, that was me. I am truly sorry to have worried you,” Naoto said, bowing and then scooting away toward the couch. 

Rise laughed, walking toward her bedroom. “Well, for the record, I’m glad it was you!”

As soon as Rise closed her bedroom door, Naoto sank into the couch, trying to catch her breath. 

Rise was unharmed, but there was still the question of the origin of that article. She had scanned the article so quickly that now she was having trouble remembering what it said. 

She was still trying to remember when Rise reemerged from her room, sporting a skimpy pair of turquoise shorts and a fitted white tank top. Naoto was most distracted by her hair though, which was still down and wavier than usual as Rise allowed it to air-dry. 

“All right, Missy,” Rise said, sauntering over and settling herself on the couch. 

Naoto was grateful that Rise had sat a comfortable distance away from her, until Rise swung her legs up over Naoto’s lap. 

Naoto’s hands flew up away from Rise’s legs, and she stayed like that for a moment, not knowing where else to put her hands. 

“Gosh, Naoto, this isn’t a police holdup,” Rise said. “You can put your hands down.”

“Right,” Naoto said, folding her hands and tentatively setting them on top of Rise’s shin. 

“Soft, right?” Rise asked, winking. “I’ve been using this new shower gel that has a really good moisturizer in it.”

Naoto replied tersely, “Yes, very soft.” 

“And it smells like yuzu, right?”

“Yes, it’s… citrus-y.”

“No need to rave about it, Naoto,” Rise teased. “If you like it so much, I’ll get you your own bottle!”

“I wasn’t…” Naoto cleared her throat. “About why I’m here…”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Why were you trying to knock my door down?”

Relieved that the conversation had at least turned away from Rise’s legs, Naoto said, “I came across a suspicious website that had an alarming rumor about you.”

“An alarming rumor?” Rise asked with a frown. “It’s not the one about me dating that sumo wrestler, is it? Because I’m not!”

“Sumo wrestler? That… truly is alarming.” 

“Right? He’s not my taste at all! He’s dumb and loud and like, grossly hyper-masculine. I’d definitely prefer someone smaller and more delicate…”

“Your preferences aside…” Naoto interrupted, not about to let the conversation go down that road. “This website said that you had gone missing, but you clearly have not. So now I’m left to wonder: who put up this false article? What was their motivation? Did they just want to stir up controversy, or is this perhaps a threat?” 

Looking unusually serious, Rise asked, “The name of this article wouldn’t happen to be ‘Pop Idol Risette Goes Missing: Help Us Find Her,’ would it?”

Naoto asked in surprise, “You’re familiar with it?” 

Rise covered her mouth and snickered behind her hand, but then she couldn’t hold it in and fell backwards, collapsing in full-on laughter. 

“Rise-chan?” Naoto asked. 

“You _like_ me!” Rise exclaimed. “You _like-like_ me!”

“Excuse me?!” Naoto asked, not knowing what the hell was going on. “H-how exactly did you come to that conclusion?” 

Sitting up and leaning toward Naoto, Rise said, “Let’s think through this, Miss Detective Prince. What was that website like?”

“The website? It was… colorful,” Naoto said, unthinkingly letting her hands come unclasped to rest on top of Rise’s legs as she tried to remember. “Yes, the background was very brightly colored, and there were a lot of different fonts. And exclamation points—a lot of those.”

The amusement in Rise’s eyes only grew. “Did you read the whole thing?”

“I… may have skimmed it after reading the heading…”

“Skimmed it, huh? And why would you only skim it?”

Naoto admitted with a sigh, “I was worried.” 

“So you were so worried about me that you didn’t read the whole page, which is a very un-Naoto-like thing to do…”

“Un-Naoto-like?” 

“…and then when you couldn’t get a hold of me, you were so worried you ran over here to check on me.”

“That would seem to be the case, yes.”

“And how did you feel when you saw I was okay?”

“Feel? Relieved, I suppose.”

Rise took hold of Naoto’s arm, shaking it a bit in her excitement. “So relieved, in fact, that you, someone who is usually hyper-aware of the awkwardness of a situation, blatantly ignored said awkwardness, burst into my apartment, and hugged me despite the fact that I was only wearing a towel, _and_ despite the fact that you _never_ initiate physical contact!”

Naoto was leaning back away from Rise, her arm stiff in Rise’s grasp. “Just what are you insinuating, Rise?”

“Naoto, that article is just a publicity thing,” Rise said more softly, loosening her grip. “The agency is putting out one clue at a time, and my fans are supposed to put the clues together to figure out where my next big concert will be. If you had read the article at _all,_ you would have known that. The title of the article is just click-bait. And _you_ fell for it hook, line, and sinker. So, what I’m _insinuating_ is that you were so worried about me that you stopped using your brain, which is _incredibly_ un-Naoto-like.”

“Just a publicity thing?” Naoto repeated dazedly, cheeks flaring up as her mind waded through how many levels of embarrassing this was. “I… stopped using my brain?”

“Yep!” Rise said, way too cheerfully for Naoto to comprehend. “You stopped using your brain and followed your heart _right to my door.”_

She whispered the last few words teasingly before wrapping her arms around Naoto. She pressed her forehead into Naoto’s shoulder and giggled until it morphed back into that uncontrollable, rolling laughter. 

“This is not funny,” Naoto said weakly, not sure there was much dignity left to salvage at this point. 

“This is the greatest and most hilarious thing that has ever happened,” Rise said, laughing so hard now that she was crying. 

Naoto looked toward the ceiling and then closed her eyes, her voice coming out deceptively calmly: “I cannot confirm nor deny your earlier hypothesis that I _like-like_ you, but…” 

Rise’s head popped up so fast she was surprised she didn’t injure herself. 

Naoto continued, “How would one go about testing that hypothesis in order to come to a proper conclusion?”

Rise was so floored by this new development that she almost stopped using her brain too. The Lovers part of her wanted to just climb on top of Naoto and kiss her, which could probably sort out some things in short order, if it didn’t send Naoto reeling into a state of complete shock. Naoto was in the perfect position for it too; her eyes were already closed and her head was tilted up…

Rise shook her head, trying to think clearly. If she really had a shot with Naoto, she needed to patiently walk her through this. She had already pushed Naoto far out of her comfort zone; there was no need to push her off a cliff as well. 

“Let’s go on a date,” Rise said, pulling her legs off of Naoto and standing up. 

“A date?” Naoto asked, opening her eyes to look at Rise’s face, but she only saw Rise’s back retreating toward her room. “Where are you going?”

“To get ready!”

“For what?”

“Our date!” Rise said, turning to smile at Naoto. She figured she could push just a _little_ more before Naoto got too close to the cliff’s edge. 

“I can’t go on a date right now!” Naoto said, sounding panicked and looking around, as if a good excuse was going to appear out of thin air. All she could come up with was: “I… I’m all sweaty!”

“You can use my shower. Oh, and you can borrow one of my outfits!”

“I’ll shower at home!” Naoto said, leaping up from the couch and speed-walking to the door. 

“Fine, I’ll come pick you up in about an hour!”

“Great, thanks, bye!” Naoto called over her shoulder, lunging toward the door knob and twisting it a few times until she realized it was locked. Her hands shook as she tried to unlock it, but the stupid thing wouldn’t unlock. 

_She’s right,_ Naoto thought dismally. _I really_ have _stopped using my brain._

Rise came up behind her, putting her head on Naoto’s shoulder and her hand over Naoto’s hand on the lock. 

She said in Naoto’s ear, “Wear something cute, okay?”

Not even able to respond that she didn’t own anything cute, Naoto merely said, “Okay.”

Rise grinned and unlocked the door with an easy click, lifting her head from Naoto’s shoulder. 

Naoto quickly opened the door and started to walk away, but then she paused and looked back to Rise.

Since Rise had given her a request…

Bravely making eye contact with Rise, Naoto requested, “Leave your hair down.”

Rise’s face went red this time, and she clung to the door to keep herself from falling down. 

“Oh… okay.”

Naoto nodded and then broke the eye contact, turning and literally running away. 

Dumbfounded, Rise stared as Naoto high-tailed it down the stairs and then up the sidewalk. That girl could move fast when she wanted to. 

Rise closed the door slowly, not snapping out of it until she heard the sharp click of the lock beneath her fingertips. 

“I need to get ready,” she told herself, a sudden burst of excitement rippling through her. Running to her room, she yelled through disbelieving laughter, “We’re going to test a hypothesis!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing these kind of makes me feel like a Velvet Room attendant—being mischievous for my own amusement; toying with people’s lives and calling it a fun experiment… but then being surprised when I come away with something personally valuable. Fascinating.


	5. Yosuke x Chie: Good Boy

Yosuke pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants and threw off his t-shirt, exhausted from a long day of exams at school and then what somehow managed to feel like an even longer shift at Junes. He collapsed into his bed, and as soon as his face hit the pillow, he was already drifting off. 

Then, of course, his phone started going off near his ear, startling him so bad that he tumbled violently out of the bed and crashed to the floor. 

“Shit,” he said into the carpet, giving himself a solid second to sulk before snatching his phone off the bed and looking at the caller ID. 

Snapping the phone open, he yelled, “What the hell, Chie?!”

“Muku got loose!” she yelled back, sounding out of breath. 

“What?” he said, his anger immediately dissipating as he sat up. 

“Muku! He found a hole in the fence and got out! My neighbor said she saw him take off toward your street. Can you go outside and see if you see him? Please?” 

Knowing that Chie never asked him for anything nicely unless it was incredibly important (or she was trying to manipulate him into buying her steak) and also knowing how much she cared for her dog, Yosuke jumped to his feet and started searching for his discarded t-shirt with his foot in the dark. 

“I’m going right now! I’ll call you if I find him!”

“Okay, thanks!” 

Yosuke shut the phone and picked up his shirt, throwing it back on and then bolting out of his bedroom, nearly tripping down the stairs in his haste. He was about to throw open his front door when he realized he would need something to help him catch Muku if he did find him. He didn’t have a leash or anything like that, but he did have some dog treats in the kitchen. Whenever he visited Chie’s house, he always brought a few treats along, as Muku had come to expect them at this point.

Not bothering to turn on any lights, Yosuke dove toward the lower cabinets, but one of his socks slipped on the smooth floor, sending him face-first into a cabinet door. The door handle caught his right eye, and he let out an ungodly shriek as his hands flew to his face and his body reflexively curled into a ball. He quickly hissed out every curse word he knew before blindly reaching for the offending door handle and opening the cabinet. 

Trying to push the throbbing pain to the back of his mind, Yosuke rummaged through the cupboard and found an unopened treat box. He ripped it open and took a big handful, spilling some of the bone-shaped treats on the ground as he stuffed as many as he could into his pants pocket. 

Yosuke grunted as he pushed himself up off the floor, and then he stood up carefully, determined not to fall again. 

Suddenly the kitchen lights came on, and Yosuke was momentarily blinded. 

“Yosuke! What are you doing?” his mother asked, taking in the site of her disheveled mess of a son and the trail of dog treats on her kitchen floor. 

“Chie’s dog got loose, I gotta go see if I can find him,” Yosuke said, rushing past her. “Sorry about the kitchen, I’ll clean it later!”

He slipped his shoes on by the front door and was about to run out when his mom ordered, “You tie those shoes before you go running around out there!” 

“Right, sorry!” he apologized, bending down to tie his shoes and pushing through the accompanying head rush. 

When he was done, his mom was right there to give him a hand up.

“Be careful,” she said gently, choosing not to say anything about his injured face or his inside-out t-shirt. “I’ll keep a lookout for Muku here.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Yosuke said, kissing her on the cheek and then taking off. 

She watched him run down the street toward Chie’s, and she sighed to herself. Her baby boy was so clumsy. She loved him so much.

* * *

Yosuke was already starting to lose his voice from yelling Muku’s name, not to mention being breathless from doing so much running. 

And yet, as he ran forward, fate decided to knock the breath out of him again. A blunt force that felt like a brick wall rammed into his body, and before he knew what was happening, he was falling backwards. His vision went white for a second when the back of his head hit the ground, but thankfully he had been knocked into someone’s yard. If he’d hit the sidewalk that hard, his scrambled brains might be on the cement right now. 

The first things his brain registered after the hit were heat and weight pressing down on him. As the world came back into focus, he realized it was the weight of someone’s body, and after another wave of dizziness passed, he realized it was Chie on top of him. 

His mind finally put it together: _I was running. Chie was running. We ran into each other._

He asked hoarsely, “Why do we always land like this?” 

Chie’s face was completely buried in his shoulder, and she didn’t say anything in response. Normally by now she’d be scrambling off of him, cursing his name, accusing him of perverted things, and/or squaring up to beat the daylights out of him.

But now she was silent and unmoving. 

“Chie?”

Chie suddenly sniffled by his ear, and then her shoulders started to shake.

“Shit, did I hurt you?” he asked worriedly, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her up off of him so he could check. 

She shook her head as she looked down at him, and a few of her hot tears landed against his cheek. 

“I can’t find him, Yosuke,” she said, her voice smaller than he had ever heard it. 

Yosuke sighed, relieved that she was at least okay physically. He wasn’t too sure about himself, but he could deal with that later. 

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to himself, and she buried her face in his shoulder once more.

“We’ll keep looking for him, and if we don’t find him, someone else will. Everyone in the neighborhood knows him,” Yosuke assured her. “Or who knows, maybe he’ll just come back on his own.”

“But why would he leave in the first place?” she asked, sounding frustrated now. “Why would he run away from me?”

“I doubt it’s personal, Chie. He’s not running away from _you._ Dogs are just… curious! There’s a whole big world out there for them to sniff and roll around in and use as their bathroom!”

Chie reluctantly let out an exasperated little laugh against his neck. “Well, it feels personal. I take such good care of him. We’re best buds! We have been forever!”

Yosuke asked, “Did you ever want to run away from home when you were little?” 

“Yeah,” Chie replied, breathing deeply and trying to stop the tears from falling. 

“You still loved your parents, didn’t you?” he prompted, knowing how close Chie was to her mom and dad. 

“Yeah, I did.”

“Then why did you still want to run away?” 

“I guess it seemed like an adventure? I knew my parents weren’t going anywhere. I was just… curious,” Chie said, realization dawning on her. “Crap, maybe you’re right.” 

Yosuke laughed, letting his arms fall away from Chie. “Of course I’m right!”

Chie said dully, “Leave it to you to be able to think like a dog.” 

“Hey! I’m being helpful! Why am I still the one getting insulted here?”

Chie pushed herself back up a bit, looking down at Yosuke’s face. 

“What happened to your eye? I didn’t do that, did I?”

Yosuke admitted wearily, “No, I did that to myself.” 

Looking at him like he was stupid, Chie asked, “You gave yourself a black eye?” 

“Shit, is it really black?”

“It’s a real shiner, Yosuke.”

“I’m sorry, Chie. You must be so disappointed that my beautiful face is slightly less beautiful now…”

“You want a second shiner to match the first one?!” Chie threatened, waving a clenched fist in his face.

Yosuke laughed and pushed her fist away. “No thanks. One is enough. But man, it seriously hurt like hell when I hit it.”

“And how exactly did you manage to do that?”

“It’s just, I was in such a hurry to find Muku, and I was looking for treats in the dark…” he trailed off, not wanting to recount the embarrassing story in too much detail.

Chie’s expression softened. Yosuke was so clumsy. 

“So, about Muku…” she said uncertainly, “…you really think he loves me?”

Yosuke looked at her like she was stupid—like it was stupid for _anyone,_ even a dog, to not love her. 

With absolute certainty, Yosuke said, “Of course he loves you.”

Chie stilled for a moment, and then her lips were colliding with Yosuke’s lips. 

Yosuke’s eyebrows shot up, surprise coursing through him even as he lifted his chin a bit, pressing into the kiss. 

As soon as Chie drew back, they started yelling at each other. 

“Chie! What the hell was that?!”

“I don’t know! Don’t yell at me!”

“You don’t know? What do you mean you don’t know?!”

“I don’t know! Get off my case!”

“Get off your case? How about you get off of _me?_ What am I, a piece of furniture?”

“You’re about as useful as a piece of furniture!”

“Furniture is super useful! Everyone has furniture because it’s useful!”

“Shut up!”

“Chie, you… you just… you _kissed_ me!”

“I’m… really emotional right now! It’s not my fault!”

“How is it not your fault?! It’s completely your fault! The only person who has control over your mouth is you!”

“Don’t act like you didn’t kiss me back, you ass!”

“Of course I did! Why the hell wouldn’t I?!” 

Chie stilled once again, instantly horrified with herself for wanting to kiss him again. Then again, if she did, there would be the added bonus of shutting him up, which would be nice… 

“Muku!” Yosuke yelled excitedly, looking off to the side. 

“What?” Chie asked, but then she followed his gaze, and there was Muku, standing right there panting and looking at the pair of them like they were stupid. 

Yosuke was waiting for Chie to finally get off of him and throw herself around her beloved dog, but she didn’t budge. 

Instead, she unhooked a leash that was hooked to her sleep shorts and calmly reached out to attach it to Muku’s collar. She tied the other end of the leash around her wrist and then stared into Muku’s eyes with a dark, intense look that honestly scared Yosuke a little bit.

In her best dog-owner voice, she commanded sharply, “Sit.”

Muku complied immediately. 

_“Stay.”_

Muku seemed to nod in acknowledgement. 

“Good boy.”

She then turned that intense look on Yosuke, who squirmed beneath her. 

“Uh… Chie?” 

Chie leaned down and kissed him again, and again. 

Dazed and elated as he set to kissing Chie back, Yosuke reached down and emptied out his pants pocket, idly tossing a pile of treats at Muku in thanks. 

He needed to be rewarded for being such a good boy, after all. 

Muku steadily made his way through the pile, lapping up the treats with his tongue and then munching away at them. 

Muku was happy. He was happy to have so many treats. He was happy to be near the girl he loved, plus the boy who always made his girl happy (and always brought him treats). He was happy he had a nice adventure that day. 

And he was happy that right now, his girl appeared to be very, very happy about whatever treats she was finding in the boy’s mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The great thing about third-person omniscient: you can swing the camera right into the dog brain at the last second. Bahaha~
> 
> I imagine after this, Chie would call Yosuke’s mom and ask her to come retrieve Yosuke, as he had lost his voice and further injured himself due to his incessant clumsiness, to which Yosuke would be unable to protest. Mama-mura would proceed to berate him the whole car ride home, including bringing up that she specifically told him to be careful, to which Yosuke would also be unable to protest. Despite her indignation, she would proceed to give him the medical attention he required, including but not limited to ice and medicated lip balm for his noticeably swollen lips. Muku would make it home safely and then throw up from eating too many treats. The end.


	6. Souji x Teddie: July 10, 2012

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I typically use ‘Souji’ instead of ‘Yu,’ but he gets to be Yu for this chapter. I'll tell you why later. XD

“I’m so happy you’re back in town, Sensei!” Teddie said, bouncing up and down with the sugar rush from all the Topsicles Yu had bought him. 

“I’m happy to be back,” Yu said, looking around wistfully as the two of them walked through the shopping district. 

“I wish you could stay for more than one day, though,” Teddie said, pouting. 

“Me too,” Yu replied, briefly placing a comforting hand on Teddie’s shoulder. The situation was definitely bittersweet, but he wanted to keep Teddie’s upbeat mood intact. “But hey, summer break is coming up soon after exams, and then I’ll be here for a few weeks.”

“A few weeks? Hooray! Everyone has been so stressed out about studying for those pesky exams lately. None of them want to play with me. Except Nana-chan, of course. She’s the best!”

“She really is,” Yu agreed, glad Teddie was keeping her company. “But I’m sure the others don’t mean anything by it. Exams are really important, and they need to focus if they want to do well.”

“Oh, I know! I just miss having fun with them beary much. But now that you’re here, I’m beeeeary happy again!”

“Good, I’m glad,” Yu said warmly. 

“But why are you here on a Tuesday when everyone else is in school, Sensei? Shouldn’t you be in school too?”

Yu chuckled guiltily. “I should be, actually. Don’t tell my parents, okay? I already had Uncle and Nanako swear to secrecy.”

Teddie gasped, covering his mouth with both hands. “Your bear-ents don’t know you’re here?!”

“They’re out of town this week, so they won’t notice.” 

“But what about your exams? Shouldn’t you be doing the focusing too?” 

Yu didn’t think just one day away from his studies was going to hurt him much, and even if it did, he figured it would be worth it. 

Yu shrugged and said, “I’ll study later.”

“Hmm, skipping school, not studying, and keeping secrets from Daddy and Mommy Narukami…” Teddie mused. “Don’t tell me you’ve become a _delinquent_ now that you’re back in the city?!”

Yu gave a quick nod. “Yep.” 

“Wow, just when I thought Sensei couldn’t get any cooler!” Teddie exclaimed. “But you still haven’t told me why you’re here today…”

“Well, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about, Teddie.”

“Uh-oh!” 

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been watching a lot of romance-y dramas with Papa and Mama-mura, and the characters usually only say ‘We need to talk’ when they’re about to break up! We’re not breaking up, are we, Sensei?” Teddie asked, sounding legitimately fearful.

“Nope,” Yu said, not bothering to explain that they technically couldn’t break up since they weren’t in that kind of relationship. 

“Phew, what a relief! But the only other time they say ‘We need to talk’ in the dramas is… when they’re about to put a ring on it! Are you going to ask me to marry you?!” Teddie squealed, pausing and striking a bewildered pose.

“Not today.”

“Oh. Gee, real life keeps not being like the dramas! I’m starting to think the dramas aren’t like real life at all!” Teddie yelled, clenching his fists and waving them around. 

“That would probably be a safe assumption,” Yu said, his calm demeanor unaffected by Teddie’s theatrics.

“But if we’re not breaking up, and we’re not getting married, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Putting his hands in his pockets as they continued forward, Yu said, “We’ve all been friends for more than a year now, right?”

“Mhm, yep!”

“So you’ve celebrated a lot of birthdays with us, right?”

“Mhm, mhm! We just had Rise-chan’s and Yosuke’s birthdays last month! They were so much fun! I wish you could have been there, Sensei.”

“Me too,” Yu said, trying to fight down that profound bittersweet feeling again. “But lately I’ve been thinking it’s not fair that we’ve never celebrated your birthday.”

“My birthday? But… I don’t have one,” Teddie said, sounding somewhat resigned, as if he had already thought through this before. “I guess I did have to be born at some point, but I don’t remember anything like that.”

“I know, Teddie. And that’s okay. But I wanted to ask if you’d like to make today your birthday.” 

“Make today my birthday?” Teddie asked with a frown. “I don’t think I understand, Sensei.”

“If you don’t know when your actual birthday is, I figured we could just pick a day.”

Teddie’s confused expression immediately transformed into a hopeful one. “Do you think we can really do that?”

“I think so,” Yu said with a confident nod. “And if that’s okay with you, we can celebrate on the same day every year.”

“A whole day just for me? Every year?” Teddie asked, his eyes sparkling. 

“Yeah. A whole day just for you,” Yu affirmed. “Would that make you happy?”

Teddie shouted wildly to the heavens, “That would make me the happiest bear in all of Japan!” 

Yu smirked, noticing Teddie’s outburst had caught the attention of a couple passersby on the other side of the street. “And you’re okay with it being today? It’s the tenth of July.”

“I love the tenth of July!” Teddie proclaimed. “Thank you for picking a birthday for me, Sensei!”

Yu shook his head. “You picked it for yourself.”

“Hm? I know my memory’s not beary good, but I think I would remember if I had just picked it.”

“You did, last year. One year ago today, you came out of the TV and showed us that you had grown a human body for yourself,” Yu said, feeling like that fateful day had actually taken place years ago. So much had changed since then. “It was kind of like a rebirth for you, so I thought today would be fitting.”

“A rebirth? I guess it was! That’s so poetic and beautiful! That’s just like you, Sensei!” Teddie said affectionately, reaching up to pat the top of Yu’s head. 

Yu laughed at the gesture. “Thanks, Teddie.”

“But how did you remem-bear the date? Did you write about it in your diary? ‘Dear Diary, today my most adorable and charming friend, Teddie, emerged from his bear suit as a gorgeously handsome human boy! I’m falling for him even more now!’ Oh, Sensei!” Teddie swooned.

“Nope. My diary is mostly doodles and a log of cats I’ve met,” Yu said, only partially joking. “I asked Yosuke to check his account for when Chie and Yukiko charged that expensive outfit for you.”

“Oh yeah, Yosuke was beary angry about that! But I look beary good in that outfit, so I don’t feel bad about it at all!”

“I wouldn’t have expected you to.”

“Wow, I can’t believe it. It’s… it’s my birthday! Today is my birthday!” Teddie cheered, as if the realization was just now fully hitting him. “Sensei became a delinquent and came back to Inaba to give me a birthday! I’m so happy I could give you a biiiig smooch!” 

That was all the warning Yu got before Teddie threw his arms around his neck and planted an eager, sloppy kiss against his lips. 

Yu didn’t even have time to react before Teddie pulled away so he could jump around in excitement. “Wow, my heart is all a-flutter! That was just like the dramas! Maybe they _are_ like real life!”

Yu just stood there motionless, not having expected that reaction at all. He felt a burning heat surging into his cheeks, and when he tried to swallow, it created a dry lump in his throat. 

Teddie, on the other hand, was ecstatic, twirling around with his arms in the air. “Yay! I smooched Sensei! Today is my birthday! This is the best day ever!”

Still a bit in shock, Yu said faintly, “Um, Teddie?”

“Yes, Sensei?” Teddie said, stopping mid-twirl and looking at Yu over his shoulder.

Forcing himself to make eye contact with Teddie, Yu cleared his throat and asked, “Do you… have feelings for me?”

“Feelings?” Teddie asked, cocking his head thoughtfully. “Yes! Being around Sensei makes me feel happy, and loved, and a little sick, like I could throw up all the Topsicles I just ate! Ooh, if I did that, do you think I could refreeze all the Topsicle juice into one gigantic Topsicle?!”

Teddie seemed to be imagining the mechanics behind such a feat, while Yu debated over what exactly he wanted to say. Yu always had to pick and choose what was worth explaining to Teddie, but he knew he couldn’t simply dismiss what had just happened. He didn’t want to start Teddie’s new birthday off by upsetting him, but he couldn’t have him running around Inaba thinking he could just kiss anybody. Before, all of Teddie’s smooch talk had just been hypothetical, but this time he had actually gone and done it.

“Teddie, you know that kisses are… special, right?”

“Oh, yes! Of course they are!”

“So you know that you can’t just kiss anyone whenever you want, right?”

“Right! The girls have told me that a bunch of times. They always say I have to save my smooches for someone I love, who loves me back. That’s why I smooched _you!”_

“Oh,” Yu said shortly, surprised yet again. “So… are you saying you love me with the kind of love the people in your romance-y dramas have for each other?”

“Definitely! I love you with every kind of love I have inside my bear heart!” 

At hearing that, Yu felt an odd combination of relief and wanting to throw up his Topsicles. 

Tentatively, Yu pressed further, “Does that mean you would want to be in a relationship with me? Like in the dramas?”

“Ooh, I would love that! That would make me the happiest bear in the whole world—this world _and_ the TV world!”

“Okay,” Yu said, glad he at least knew the full extent of Teddie’s feelings. His own feelings, however, were a bit further from his grasp. “Can I have some time to think about this?”

“Sure! They always ask for ‘time to think’ on the dramas!”

“Thank you,” Yu said with a small smile, feeling relieved again. “In the meantime, let’s keep celebrating your birthday, okay? I was thinking we could order some lunch and bring it to share with everyone at Yasogami. Then we can pick up Nanako from school and go to Junes, and while we’re there, we can choose some ingredients together so I can make you a birthday dinner before I have to catch the train home. How does that sound?”

“Lunch with the whole team? Going to Junes with Nana-chan? Spending all day with Sensei? I can’t wait! This is my favorite birthday ever!”

Emboldened by Teddie’s sincere and unapologetic feelings for him, Yu smiled and held his open palm out, and Teddie took it without a second thought. 

“Your hand is sticky.”

“Oops! That must be from the Topsicles. Let go real quick, Sensei, and I’ll lick it clean for you!”

Instead, Yu clutched Teddie’s hand more tightly. 

“That won’t be necessary.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daddy and Mommy Narukami! I saw an opportunity, and I TOOK IT. Lol. (Papa and Mama Hanamura are still #1 in my heart, though.)
> 
> I was so excited when this idea of giving Teddie a birthday popped into my head, and then I thought, ‘Hm, who would be thoughtful enough to do this for Teddie…? Sensei would.’ And here we are.


	7. Kanji x Yukiko: Stuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is inspired by “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne, a song that I, a music-minded intellectual, find to be hella dope.

“Hello, Tatsumi-san,” Yukiko greeted, ducking into the textile shop and quickly shutting the door behind herself so the cold wouldn’t come in.

“Yuki-chan, you’re here!” Kanji’s mother said, looking up from her sweeping of the storefront. “Let me call Kanji for you.”

As she combed snowflakes out of her hair, Yukiko said, “Oh, that won’t be necess-”

“KANJI!” his mother shouted. “YUKI-CHAN IS HERE!”

“I KNOW! I’M COMING!” Kanji shouted back. 

Yukiko smiled at hearing Kanji’s voice, used to the back-and-forth shouting between him and his mom by now. 

“Oh, that boy is so rude, yelling at his dear mother in front of you, Yuki-chan. You are so sweet to put up with him.”

“But you’ve been putting up with him the longest, Tatsumi-san, so that must make you the sweetest.” 

Kanji’s mom laughed gleefully. “I suppose I can’t argue with that! Oh my, I don’t know how my Kanji convinced such a smart, patient, beautiful young lady to go out with him. You’re the kind of girl mothers like me dream of having as a daughter-in-law.”

“Thank you very much,” Yukiko said with a giggle and a bow. Yukiko was used to this as well; Kanji’s mom had honestly had her eye on Yukiko long before Yukiko even considered Kanji romantically. “Kanji has his charms, though. I feel very fortunate to have him.” 

Kanji burst into the room, pushing up his glasses and eyeing the both of them suspiciously. “You two talkin’ shit about me again?” 

Yukiko replied pleasantly, “Always.” 

“Damn it,” Kanji grumbled, walking past his mom like she wasn’t there and moving toward Yukiko.

“Kanji! You watch what comes out of that foul mouth when you're in front of a lady!” his mom chastised. “And it’s cold outside! A light jacket thrown on top of a t-shirt is not going to keep you warm enough!”

“Shut up, Ma! I’m a grown-ass man!” Kanji said, crossing his arms. 

“Kanji,” Yukiko said, putting her gloved hands on his bare ones. “It’s snowing. Gloves and a scarf, at least?”

Kanji’s firm stance melted instantly. 

“Fine,” he mumbled, turning to go back to his room. 

“And zip up that jacket!” his mom called after him. 

“Hell no, ya old hag!” he yelled, slamming the door behind him. 

Yukiko assured his mother, “I’ll make sure he zips it up.” 

The two of them continued to converse candidly about Kanji while they waited for him. 

When he returned, he was wearing a pair of black gloves that Yukiko had gifted him and a dark pink scarf that he had knitted himself. 

Seeing the scarf, Yukiko looked down at her own outfit and realized that the dark pink he’d chosen was an exact match to the color of her skirt. 

His mom yelled, “You be a gentleman, Kanji Tatsumi, or you’re never going to get a wife!” 

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Kanji said, ignoring his mom and grabbing Yukiko’s hand. 

“Goodbye, Tatsumi-san!” Yukiko called behind her. “Have a good evening!”

“You as well, Yuki-chan! Well, as good of an evening as you can have with-”

“What the _hell,_ Ma?!” Kanji shouted, his voice cracking as he violently slid the front door closed. 

Kanji started to stomp away from the textile shop, but Yukiko stopped him and said, “One moment.” 

She tangled her hands in his scarf, wanting him to know she had noticed his color choice. She pulled his face down to hers for a long kiss, delighting in how warm his lips felt against the chilly winter air. 

While their lips were still touching, Yukiko reached for his jacket zipper and zipped it up, eliciting an exasperated groan from him. She pulled away with a short laugh, patting his chest and grinning up at him unapologetically. 

“Love you,” she said happily. 

“Love you too,” he sighed, blushing and giving her a peck on the forehead. 

Content with that, Yukiko wrapped both of her arms around one of his, and the pair started walking toward Aiya’s. 

Lately Yukiko had become rather shameless about how much she loved Kanji’s toned arms (and all of his muscles, really), so it was pretty easy for her to tell that his arm was tense in a different way than usual. 

“Sorry about Ma,” Kanji apologized. 

“No need to apologize for her. You know I love your mother.”

“I know you do, but that don’t mean she can get away with always sayin’ the same crap over and over again. I hate when she throws out that ‘wife’ stuff in front of you and then acts like it ain’t a big deal.”

“Well, I don’t mind-”

Kanji asked brashly, “Ain’t you tired of the same old shit all the time?”

“No,” Yukiko countered firmly, stopping them in the middle of the otherwise deserted street. “I feel like this is about more than just your mother, Kanji.”

Yukiko gazed up at him, distracted for a second by how handsome he looked illuminated by a nearby streetlight and with the light snowfall falling all around him. 

Reaching up to take his face in her hands, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Kanji shrugged and said, “We always do the same thing. You walk to our shop after work; we go to Aiya’s; I walk you back to the Inn. I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck in our routine.”

“I can see how having a routine might seem dull, but if our routine were to stop for some reason, I think I’d miss it terribly,” Yukiko said. “Do _you_ feel stuck?”

“I kinda feel like we’re both stuck at our family’s businesses and like, here in Inaba. I wish I could afford to whisk you away all romantic-like somewhere far the hell away from here, but I can’t," Kanji said, his voice starting to waver. “I ain’t got nothin’ to offer you, Yuki.”

Kanji was visibly upset, avoiding Yukiko’s eyes but also leaning into her touch as she stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. 

“Is that all?” she asked gently.

Kanji shook his head. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck with _me._ Hell, you don’t gotta stay with me because you’re used to our routine or because my Ma wants us to get married or because you’re too nice to tell me to fuck off.” 

“Kanji, you should know better,” Yukiko said softly, wiping away a few tears that had fallen from his eyes. “If I wanted you to fuck off, I would tell you to fuck off.”

“Huh?” Kanji said with a gulp, his eyes bugging out as he looked down at her. 

“I am in control of my own life; I’m here by choice. My family’s inn gives me a reason to stay in Inaba, but _you_ give me a reason to love being in Inaba. And I think being stuck somewhere you love isn’t such a bad thing. So unless this is your way of telling me to fuck off, _you_ are stuck with _me.”_

Kanji waited until she was done speaking to really start crying. 

Yukiko smiled as he threw his lovely, muscular arms around her and cried into her hair, “I love you so much! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, shit… Like hell I’d ever want you to fuck off!”

Yukiko rubbed his back in soothing circles, basking in his ever-present warmth. 

She whispered in his ear, “I _would_ like to go somewhere far the hell away from here with you one day.” She grinned when she felt a shiver run down his spine, and she added, “On a honeymoon, perhaps?”

“Holy shit!” Kanji shouted, completely tensing up in her hold. “Are… are you for real?”

In a teasing, sing-song voice, Yukiko said, “There’s a reason I don’t mind your mother saying those things she always says.”

Kanji was gaping when she pulled away, and she casually strolled away from him in the direction of Aiya’s, her hands clasped innocently behind her back. 

“No pressure, though,” she said, feeling peaceful as she looked up through the gentle snowfall but also already missing the comfort of Kanji’s body heat. 

“Wait up!” he called, running after her and then sliding an arm around her shoulders. “If we _did_ go on a… h-honeymoon… where would you wanna go?”

“I don’t really know,” Yukiko said, leaning into his side. “But whenever I hear the word ‘honeymoon,’ I think of bee farms. And the moon, obviously.”

Kanji sniffed and wiped at his eyes before saying gruffly, “But I’m allergic to bees. And, uh, space air.”

Yukiko laughed, wrapping her arms around his torso. 

“I’m guessing I’m allergic to space air too. We’ll have to keep our space suits on if we go to the moon.”

“Or else that would be a damn short marriage,” Kanji said, finally laughing too. 

Beaming up at him, Yukiko said, “We wouldn’t want that. Your mother would be so disappointed if we didn’t come back from the moon to give her grandkids.”

“Grandkids?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have y’all seen Kanji’s “Snowflakes” fever time with Yukiko in P4D? It’s one of my favorite fever times in the entire game. Kanji's dance could warm even the coldest of hearts (a.k.a. mine).


	8. Chie x Rise: Savoury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that we’re a few chapters in, I’ve started to notice some strange, unintentional patterns. Kanji’s chapters take place in winter, Souji’s chapters involve sticky hands (?!), and Yosuke’s chapters contain the most extended bouts of smooching. Lol~

Chie and Rise huddled close underneath Rise’s light pink umbrella, avoiding puddles as they walked down a narrow cobblestone street.

It was their second day in London together, and Rise had opted to take them somewhere off the beaten path. The day before, they had hit a number of the major tourist hotspots in the heart of the city. They’d taken tons of photos together and stopped in various shops, which Chie had seemed to enjoy, but Rise kept getting stopped by fans, which she felt bad about.

She supposed she should have expected it. She had been here recently on her European tour; that’s the reason she wanted to bring Chie in the first place. Still, she didn’t think she would be recognized in her plainclothes by so many people. Chie had taken it in stride every time, even offering (with her admittedly awful English skills) to take pictures of fans with Rise. Rise appreciated it, really, but she knew it was still a bit much for Chie to have to deal with while she was supposed to be on vacation with her girlfriend.

Today, however, Rise was determined that the focus would be on Chie and making her happy.

“I totally forgot to warn you about how rainy it is here!” Rise said apologetically, trying to ensure the umbrella was equally shielding herself and Chie from the light, yet insistent rain. “I hope you don’t mind sharing.”

“You know I don’t!” Chie said, playfully nudging Rise’s side. “But I did see a ton of those black ‘I Heart London’ umbrellas in the shops yesterday. Maybe I should pick one up later.”

Rise laughed. “Oh my gosh, Chie, you’ll look like such a tourist with one of those!”

“Aren’t I a tourist, though?”

“That doesn’t mean you should _look_ like one. Then again, if anyone could pull off looking cute as a tourist, it would be you.”

“If _I_ can pull it off, then so can you! You know what? We could get matching t-shirts! And oh, I know! Flag pants! We’d be the cutest!”

Rise laughed, picturing them in the most tacky, horrible tourist outfits imaginable. _“I_ have an image to maintain, but if you wanna go full-blown tourist on me, I won’t stop you.”

“Well, I don’t wanna hurt your image, so I _guess_ I’ll just stop at the umbrella. You can’t stop me from at least getting that, though. I’m gonna show it off back home every time it rains!”

“How considerate of you, Chie. Thank you ever so much,” Rise giggled. “And here we are—one of London’s best-kept secrets! Last time, a local guide told me I absolutely had to come here, and this place totally made me think of you.”

“This place made you think of _me?”_ Chie asked, looking at the small bakery whose storefront was a distinct pastel pink (quite similar to the color of Rise’s umbrella and earrings, actually) and whose front door was bordered by an arch of delicate pink, lavender, and white flowers.

“Yep! I knew as soon as I stepped into this place that I _had_ to bring you here. And the owner just _happens_ to have a niece who’s a huge fan of mine, so…” Rise paused for dramatic effect, “…I’ve arranged for a private pie-tasting!”

“A private tasting? That sounds fancy! And pie, huh? The only pie I ever remember having… was the apple pie Souji made us.”

“Oh yeah, that pie was so good! I took a slice home to Grandma, and she almost lost her mind over it. I had to beg Senpai to make another whole pie just for her!”

“Wait, really? The same thing happened with my mom! And Yukiko’s mom…”

“Oh no… what if wasn’t just us? Senpai totally would have kept it to himself even if literally everyone asked him for their own pie. He must have baked so many…”

“And they were really pretty on the top, too. What was that stuff called? Lattice? That had to take a long time…”

“Um, let’s buy Senpai a souvenir while we’re here, okay?” Rise suggested guiltily.

“Yeah, good idea! But in the meantime, let’s get out of this rain,” Chie said, moving toward the front door of the bakery.

“Actually, we’re going in the side door,” Rise said, pulling Chie around the corner to a door that was obviously not meant for the public.

Rise opened it without hesitation, ushering Chie in while she closed her umbrella and shook it out. When Rise shut the door, the small, enclosed area went dark. There was just enough room for the two of them to stand, and a small staircase leading to the second floor.

“Um, it kind of feels like we shouldn’t be here,” Chie said uncertainly. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

Rise, however, looked like she was right at home, setting her umbrella in the corner against the wall and removing her shoes.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been here before. You can leave your shoes here, and then we can head up.”

“If you say so!” Chie said, toeing her shoes off next to Rise’s.

Chie followed as Rise went up the stairs, and they emerged in a small, cozy apartment. Rise flipped on a light switch, and Chie’s gaze fell on a circular table absolutely covered in different pies.

Chie sniffed the air a few times. “It smells like meat in here.”

Rise’s grin was big and bright. “Welcome, my dear Chie, to the world of savory pies!”

“Savory?”

Rise took Chie’s hand and pulled her toward the pie table, watching delightedly as Chie’s eyes got bigger and bigger.

“Meat-filled pies, Chie. Full-sized pies _stuffed_ with meat,” Rise emphasized, pulling out a chair for Chie and then taking the seat next to it. “Pies are a _little_ different in the UK than what we’re familiar with.”

Chie couldn’t find a way to respond at first, overwhelmed by the vast array of strange and beautiful pies before her. Each pie had a little handwritten label in front of it, some of which Chie understood but most of which she didn’t.

“Rise… did you bring me all the way to London just so I could try out a bunch of meat pies?”

“Uh, well, not _just_ for that. I mean, you’d never been out of Japan, and I really liked it here and wanted to experience it with you. But yes, the meat pies gave me the idea, and um, this is kind of the part of the trip I was most excited about? So I really hope you like it!” Rise babbled, looking embarrassed. “That sounds really stupid, doesn’t it? Geez, I’m such an idiot.”

Chie shook her head vehemently. “I’ve gotta say, this is like, the most romantic thing… ever.”

“Really?!” 

“I’m glad you think of me when we’re apart, and I’m happy you want to share things you like with me. And you know what I like, and you went to the trouble of arranging this for me. That’s so thoughtful!”

“Aww, Chie! It was no trouble, really! But yeah, I’m always thinking about you when I’m on tour. Honestly, there are so many other places I want to take you. If you’re up for it, anyway. I mean, I know you can’t always take off work, but—”

“I was gonna wait to give you this, but I think now’s actually perfect,” Chie interrupted, pulling something out of her shorts pocket. “I _kinda_ had one of your fans distract you yesterday while I bought this.”

Chie held up a rose gold necklace, letting it dangle in the air between them. The pendant was a small hourglass containing light pink sand.

“I’m, uh, really enjoying spending all this time with you, like a lot. The pendant rotates—” Chie demonstrated by flipping the hourglass so the sand started flowing from the top of the hourglass to the bottom, “—so we never have to run out of time, if we don’t want. We can travel the world together and make memories and do pretty much anything, really… Crap, this sounded a lot better in my head.”

“It sounds perfect,” Rise said with a warm smile, before turning away from Chie and lifting her hair away from her neck.

Chie’s mind stuttered for a moment until she realized what Rise wanted her to do, but then she quickly leaned forward and put the necklace around Rise’s neck. It took her a bit of fiddling to get the clasp open and hooked, but once she managed it to do it, Chie sighed in relief and pressed her forehead to the base of Rise’s neck.

“You’re warm,” Rise said, looking down at the pendant and rotating the hourglass a few times.

“Well yeah, I kinda just said a bunch of embarrassing stuff!” Chie half-whined, eliciting a fond laugh from Rise.

“I loved all of it.”

“Okay, enough of this sappy crap,” Chie tried to recover, abruptly sitting up straight. “Let’s dig in before these get cold!”

Rise laughed and let her hair fall back down, and then she turned back to Chie, giving her an adoring look that a blushing Chie definitely caught in her peripheral.

Reaching for the pie closest to her, Chie exclaimed, “Whoa, what the heck is this? It has a huge bone sticking out of the middle of it!”

Rise, whose English was pretty good, read the card for her: “That is a… _lamb shanks pie.”_

“Holy crap, so they just stuck a whole lamb shank in there, bone and all? That’s pretty badass.”

“It is!” Rise agreed. “And look, that one is shaped like a fish! It’s so cute! And…” Rise suddenly yelped. “Oh gosh, this one has a bunch of fish heads sticking out of it!”

Chie teased, “What, are you scared of a few little fishies, Rise?”

“No, I just wasn’t expecting them! I didn’t know we had an audience,” Rise said, lifting the pie toward Chie. “Look! So many little eyes!”

“Hand it over,” Chie said, taking the pie from Rise’s hands. “I love fish eyes!”

The girls proceeded to sample every last one of the pies. Chie was particularly pleased with a steak and ale pie, as well as a Gala pie that was filled with pork and revealed boiled egg halves once cut into. (“This pie is freakin’ magical! Can I eat this every day?!”)

Two weeks later, back in Tokyo, the girls met up with Souji and Yosuke at their campus to have dinner and tell them about their trip.

“So you had Souji make you an apple pie too?” Chie asked Yosuke, who was sitting in the booth across from her.

“Yeah, once my parents tried it, they went crazy about it—said it was one of the best things they’d ever tasted. But I didn’t know everyone else asked him for a pie too!” Yosuke turned to Souji beside him and punched him in the arm. “Why didn’t you say something, Partner?!”

Souji looked sheepish, rubbing his bicep where Yosuke had hit him as if it had actually hurt. “I was just happy everyone liked it so much. Plus, I couldn’t say no to you guys, let alone your families.”

“Oh, come on, Senpai!” Rise pouted. “You could have at least let us pay you if you were gonna make that many. That couldn’t have been cheap. And it had to have taken forever.”

Souji stared into his drink glass, eyes glossing over. “I did kind of convert Uncle’s house into a bakery for a few days… and I spent that week’s weapons budget on pie ingredients… I failed a big test after that…”

“Partner! What the actual hell, man?” Yosuke accosted, grabbing Souji by the arm to violently shake him out of his trance.

Chie assessed, “You’re like, the smartest, nicest idiot I’ve ever met. Geez, I can’t believe you let us give you Pie-TSD. But hey, if school doesn’t work out for you, you can always go back to Inaba and open a pie shop!”

“If school… doesn’t work out?” Souji repeated, looking concerned.

Trying to lift the mood, Rise quickly said, “Well, to make it up to you, we brought you back a present from our trip!”

She handed the present across the table to Souji. He unrolled it, revealing that it was a black t-shirt.

He cocked his head and read: _“I Heart London.”_

Snickering, Yosuke said, “They went to London, and all you got is this lousy tourist t-shirt. That’s rough, man.” Looking to Chie, he asked, “Speaking of which, what’d you bring me?”

“Nothing,” she deadpanned perfectly, a skill she had picked up from Souji.

“Aw man, seriously? You’re the worst!”

 _“You’re_ the worst!” Chie shot back, immediately losing the neutral expression and kicking him under the table, which made him howl in pain.

 “Some things never change, eh?” Rise remarked to Souji. “So, are you gonna wear your t-shirt, Senpai?”

“I will treasure it,” Souji said flatly, “but I will definitely not wear it.”

“Aw, you’re so mean! We brought that from the other side of the world for you!”

After a harmless mini-argument of their own, Rise and Souji set to sipping their drinks and contently observing Yosuke’s and Chie’s full-blown argument. Rise hooked her ankle around Chie’s, grinning at how cute she was when she got all worked up.

Happy to be with her friends and, most importantly, beside Chie, Rise twirled her hourglass pendant between her fingers over and over again until the motion became like a prayer.

If it was up to her, their time together was never going to run out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original idea for this came from binge-watching _The Great British Baking Show_ on Netflix, where I learned that savory (or savoury) pies are a huge thing in the UK. Here in America (and in Japan, from what I’ve read), pie is most associated with dessert, and savory pies are considered pot pies. I have learned so much about pie for this chapter. XD 
> 
> I also drew inspiration from the song “Rose Gold” by Pentatonix. Cheers!


	9. Souji x Yukiko: Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've only played P4 once (only the base game, not Golden), and in that playthrough, I did not complete any of the romantic social links within the IT (my strategy when it came to social links was, uh, questionable). I only know how Chie's social link ends because I read about it to get inspiration for their chapter (which will be Chapter 30 if you're wondering XD), but for the rest of the girls, I'll mostly be going off what I've seen of them outside their in-game romances.

“I’m really sorry about tonight,” Souji apologized, loosening his tie as they strolled up the dimly lit sidewalk toward the center of campus.

Yukiko frowned up at the side of his face, but he didn’t return her gaze immediately. Their special date night had definitely had a few hiccups so far, but none of them were his fault.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, you loser,” she said, reaching up and poking the side of his nose hard enough to turn his head sideways.

Souji let out a dorky laugh that mostly came out of his nose.

Whenever Yukiko caught him getting too tense and serious, she would attempt to lighten his mood, which she typically pulled off in short order. He would always do the same for her, since they both tended to have their overly serious moments.

They both also had their overly goofy moments, and when their moods matched, they could easily spiral into a unique madness that only the two of them could even begin to understand.

“If I’m a loser, then so are you,” Souji replied, burying one of his hands in his pants pocket.

He reached out with his other hand to knot their fingers together, and then he lifted her hand to press fleeting kisses against each of her knuckles.

“Nope, you’re a loser, and I’m perfect,” Yukiko declared with a confident nod.

“You’re right. I’m not worthy,” Souji said, pressing a fifth kiss to her final finger.

“You can say that again!” Yukiko giggled, placing a single, lingering kiss against the back of his hand, causing him to blush.

People were always saying that they were perfect; Souji was the perfect guy and Yukiko was the perfect girl, and together they were the perfect couple.

Those people didn’t really know Souji and Yukiko.

The two of them were odd ducks for sure, but their oddness was compatible. Somehow, this made them feel less odd in the broader scope of things, as if having another person like them was evidence that their existence wasn’t some weird mutation of fate—they weren’t the only odd duck in the pond.

A little more breathlessly this time, Souji repeated, “You’re right. I’m not worthy.”

He was joking, but he wasn’t.

Even after happily dating Yukiko through most of their time at university, he still struggled to comprehend why she chose to be with him. Not that she didn’t make her affection for her him completely clear, because she did, all the time.

She had been the one to ask him out during the fall of their first year, right near the campus clock tower they were currently walking toward. At the time, he had been so stunned that he forgot to respond to her, since in his mind the answer was so obviously yes.

She had interpreted his dumbfounded silence as a rejection, and by the time he realized what he had done and apologized about a thousand times, they were both in tears. He then thoroughly and frantically clarified that _of course_ he wanted to date her. She didn’t believe him, thinking he was taking pity on her, and it wasn’t exactly an unreasonable assumption, since he was honestly just really weak when it came to anyone he cared about showing the smallest hint of sadness.

That had led to him initiating their first kiss (since Souji’s stupid words were failing him), and thankfully that action was rather effective at clearing things up, allowing them to finally laugh through their tears.

Souji loved Yukiko so much in that moment.

And now, he loved her even more.

That’s why he had apologized, because he loved her and had wanted their last date night on campus to be perfect: a perfect date on a perfectly clear night, a perfect dinner at a perfect restaurant, a perfect lead-up to a perfect moment…

So when heavy, dark clouds rolled in earlier that evening despite a completely clear forecast, Souji got a little nervous. He told himself he didn’t believe in bad omens, but when they arrived at the restaurant (that he had made reservations for way in advance after hearing and reading a ton of rave reviews) and his reservation was nowhere to be found (he had triple-checked, but perhaps he should have quadruple-checked?), that impending sense of doom moved from the back of his mind to the forefront.

Yukiko didn’t mind waiting for a table though, and they did have fun together while they sat in the lobby looking at cat pictures on Souji’s phone. It was a thing they had started doing in their second year between classes to pass time—pulling up listings for local, adoptable cats and picking out their favorites.

Tonight they had agreed on a pair of young, bonded tuxedo cats named Cherry and Blossom. All their photos had the two of them cuddled together, staring curiously at the camera with big, matching sets of green eyes.

As they were fawning over how beautiful those eyes were, the hostess came over and informed them that their reservation had been found; someone had entered it into the computer system incorrectly, placing it in the wrong _year._ Souji was slightly annoyed but mostly relieved that he wasn’t crazy and the mistake hadn’t been on his end.

That was only the first of a long list of offenses during their dining experience (water getting spilled on Souji’s suit jacket, receiving incorrect orders, finally receiving correct orders that were undercooked and really just didn’t taste good, getting charged for both the incorrect and correct orders on split checks even though they had asked for one check and honestly should have gotten a discount instead of getting double charged…), but Souji tried his hardest to be optimistic about salvaging the night.

Hopefully those dark clouds would hold off while they walked back through their scenic campus to the dorms, and he would be able to smooth things over on the way, erasing the memory of the past couple hours. And maybe when everything was said and done, he could whip up some actual food in the dorm kitchen, and then they could cuddle just as intensely as those cute little tuxedo cats.

His last spark of optimism was extinguished, however, when a fat raindrop landed on the tip of his nose, making him go cross-eyed before his gaze flicked up to the foreboding sky and he got a faceful of downpour.

As Souji threw off his suit jacket to hold it over Yukiko’s head, he idly thought that he was now a believer in bad omens, which made him feel sick to his stomach (hopefully it wasn’t both dread _and_ food poisoning). He quickly but regretfully made the decision that the perfect date night was now a complete Mission: Abort, and after all the bad omens so far, he would be lucky to just get Yukiko home in one piece.

As soon as the full force of the downpour hit her, Yukiko yelped in surprise, and then she laughed loudly, her voice cutting through the sound of the rain colliding with the earth.

Souji peeked under the suit coat canopy he had made for her to see what was so funny, realizing as his arms grew heavier that his jacket was already soaked through and not doing her any good.

Realizing this at the same time, Yukiko grabbed his jacket from him and let it fall in a wet heap to the ground. She took his hand again, and then she kicked off her heels, falling a couple inches in height. Still laughing, she tugged at his hand to pull him off the sidewalk and into the grass.

“Hold on,” he said, intrigued by Yukiko’s actions and always willing to play along with her without any explanation.

As soon as he toed off his shoes and socks, Yukiko dragged him into the grass, which turned to mud beneath their feet. Souji finally realized she was pulling him straight toward the clock tower, which ironically was where he had planned on taking her before the mission was aborted.

As they neared the base of the clock tower, right where they’d had their first kiss, Yukiko turned and took both of his hands, walking backwards and looking up at him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

However, Yukiko’s wet, stockinged feet slipped out from beneath her, and she fell backwards, shrieking as she grasped at Souji’s white dress shirt to catch herself but only dragging him down with her.

“Yukiko!”

The soft ground squished beneath them as they landed, sending mud flying everywhere.

“Yukiko…” Souji breathed, one hand cradling her head and the other arm cushioning her back.

Yukiko chuckled, gently placing her hands on the sides of his neck. “This date keeps getting better and better.”

Souji frowned, feeling guilty. “Are you okay?”

“Nope,” Yukiko said, pulling her space case of a boyfriend closer. “All this heavy rain is hitting me in the face. If only some merciful person’s face was over my face, then I could be shielded from this unmerciful rain…”

Souji got the hint and pushed aside his guilt for one second, leaning down to kiss her, which she eagerly returned.

“I’m sorry,” he said against her lips, not completely pulling away.

“Why are you apologizing again?” Yukiko asked, fighting the heaviness of her eyelids.

“I wanted tonight to be perfect.”

“You always want our dates to be perfect. And while I sincerely appreciate the sentiment, you put too much pressure on yourself.”

“But…” Souji protested, pressing his wet bangs against hers, “…you deserve perfection.”

“That’s what I have you for,” she said, kissing the corner of his mouth.

“Me? I’m not perfect.”

“I meant that you’re perfect for me. I love you. Nothing so insignificant as an imperfect date would change that.”

Souji’s serious expression fell apart, and he searched her blushing face while knowing full well that his own blush had to be ten times more severe.

He asked, “You sure about that?”

“Completely.”

“You don’t expect perfection?” Souji asked, wanting to be completely sure that _she_ was completely sure.

“Not at all.”

Souji sighed, rolling off of her and plopping onto his back.

“You wanna marry me?” Souji asked, reaching into his pants pocket and extending his arm so the red ring box was in Yukiko’s face.

“Oh…” Yukiko said slowly, “…so that’s why you wanted tonight to be perfect.”

Lifting the box from his fingers with both hands, she shrugged and said, “Sure, why not?”

“What… what kind of answer is that?!” Souji asked, his voice cracking.

“An imperfect one!” Yukiko laughed. “See what I did there? I’m so funny!”

“You… are such a loser.”

 _“You’re_ a loser,” Yukiko insisted. “And I will happily spend the rest of my life with your loser self.”

“Wait, really?” Souji asked, perking up. “Even after such a lame proposal?”

“Yep!” Yukiko confirmed, popping the ring box open and eyeballing the diamond ring. “Oh, Souji… I hate to do this to you, but did you keep the receipt for this?”

“You changed your mind already?” Souji asked miserably, though he wasn’t completely surprised.

“No no no, shhh,” Yukiko assured him, cupping his cheek in her palm. “It’s just… diamonds are my least favorite gem… I would have liked literally _any_ other gem more than this… pfft…”

Souji looked so devastated that Yukiko burst out laughing in his face.

“Bahaha, I love you so much!” Yukiko wheezed, clutching her stomach and crying.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Souji said flatly, burying his face in her shoulder.

She asked through her laughter, “So you didn’t keep the receipt?”

“I did…”

“Let’s return this and pick something else out together, okay?” Souji’s head popped back up, and Yukiko continued, “I really love you, I swear. But marriage lasts a long time, you know? And I wouldn’t want to hate the symbol of our eternal love for that whole time. You can understand that, right?”

Deflating against her in relief, Souji nodded tiredly and then asked, “Can we get the cats?”

“The cats?”

“Cherry and Blossom. Can we adopt them?”

“Yes.”

“Both of them?” Souji asked hopefully.

“Of course both of them! They’re bonded, right? Bonded pairs should stick together,” Yukiko said warmly, touching the tip of her nose to Souji’s.

“Yukiko Amagi, will you marry me?”

“Souji Seta, I already said yes to that.”

“Just making sure.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Souji smiled, tangling his fingers in Yukiko’s wet, muddy hair.

“Perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever, partially because I've been busy with work, but also because I just couldn't get it right. I came up with the concept pretty quickly, and I relate to these two the most of anyone in the IT, so I thought writing this would be easier. I guess I was trying too hard to make it… perfect. :P *rolls around in mud*


	10. Yosuke x Saki: Wrong Assumptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the general premise of this story is pairing IT members together, but this chapter is one of a handful of special exceptions. Also, while most of the chapters in this story are compliant with canon (aside from establishing relationships), this one diverges from canon, for hopefully obvious reasons. Saki doesn’t get thrown in the TV/killed, and she and Yosuke finally get to go to the movies together. This lightly references The Magician manga, which you can read online. 
> 
> Dedicating this chapter to [livefree_13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/livefree_13/works). ❤

“So, what’d you think of the movie?” Yosuke asked tentatively as they slowly walked out of the theater. 

Saki hadn’t said much all afternoon, and Yosuke could see even now that she seemed tense.

When they reached the sidewalk, she knotted her hands tightly behind her back and looked up to the sky, which had transformed from light to dark while they were inside watching the movie. 

“Hm, well, if I’m being honest…” she started, taking a long pause and looking like she was trying to find a way to most accurately articulate her opinion of the film. 

“Yeah?” Yosuke prompted, wondering why she seemed to be dawdling. 

“…I hated it,” she finally said decisively. 

Yosuke squawked, “Seriously?!”

“Did _ you _ like it?” Saki asked, peering up at him curiously. 

“Well, no, but I picked that movie because I thought  _ you _ would like it.”

With a blank expression, Saki asked, “And why did you think I would like some awfully-written romance thinly disguised as an action movie?” 

“Uh, because girls like romance?” Yosuke answered nervously, wincing at how stupid it sounded when he said it out loud. Saki was no average girl, after all, and he honestly had no idea what kind of movies she was actually into.

“Typical. Everyone always makes wrong assumptions about me,” Saki sighed rigidly, turning away from him and walking toward the train station. 

“Whoa, hey! Slow down!” Yosuke cried, jogging a few steps to catch up with her. “I wasn’t trying to offend you or anything!”

“I  _ know,” _ Saki said, sounding annoyed at first, but then she stopped under a streetlight, clenching and unclenching her fists before looking up at him again. More softly, she said, “You’re one of the only people in that stupid town who cares about whether or not they’re offending me…”

“What happened? Is everything okay?” Yosuke asked with concern, mildly relieved that she seemed to know he was on her side but also getting a sinking feeling in his stomach that the customers at Junes were badmouthing her again. Whatever it was, anything that was bringing down a person as bright and good-hearted as Saki had to be pretty serious. 

Saki crossed her arms protectively in front of herself and looked sideways before laughing dryly. 

“Nothing is okay,” she said with a bitterness Yosuke had never heard from her before. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve been pretty stressed out lately about… a lot of things. That’s the only reason I agreed to hang out with you tonight, because I thought it would be nice to just take a break from, well, everything else. But at the same time, it’s hard not to associate you with certain parts of the  _ everything else, _ and… gosh, this isn’t making any sense.”

Yosuke took a moment to process all of that, and while some of her words were a direct hit to his own feelings, he sucked it up and put that aside so he could address what was more important. 

“I’m really sorry you’ve been so stressed out, Senpai. We can talk about it, if you want. I promise I’m a better listener than you’d think. Or we can just ride home in silence, and I promise I’ll keep my stupid mouth shut the whole time, even when we’re back in Inaba and I’m walking you home.”

Saki looked up at him, and after her gaze roamed over his earnest expression for a few seconds, she reluctantly grinned.

“And let my parents see me out with the Junes boy? I don’t think poor little Inaba could handle the amount of drama that would cause, Hana-chan. Though, the prospect of you keeping your mouth shut  _ is _ tempting.” 

Yosuke slumped over defeatedly. “Fine, I’ll only walk you part of the way home so your parents won’t see, and I’ll still shut up, but I’m not letting you walk all the way home alone in the dark.”

Saki laughed genuinely at that. “You really are a gentleman, aren’t you? Buying my ticket, opening doors for me, offering to walk me home… A little old-fashioned if you ask me, but you’re trying so hard, and I’m just bursting your bubble, aren’t I?”

“Who cares about my bubble? I’m more worried about you, Senpai.”

“You know, guys aren’t interested in me all that often, and when they are, it’s usually for all the wrong reasons,” Saki said, looking Yosuke square in the eyes. “But you… you like me, right?” 

Yosuke’s entire face immediately flushed at being called out so bluntly. 

“Um! Haha! Well, I… well, yeah,” he admitted, pocketing his sweaty hands. “I do like you. That’s why I wanted to spend time with you, and why I wanted to pick a movie you would like, although apparently that was a major flop.”

“I like comedies,” Saki said quickly before turning on her heel to make her way up the station steps. 

“Huh?” Yosuke asked after her, hopping a couple steps at a time to be by her side. 

“I also definitely like a good period piece,” she continued casually as she kept climbing the stairs. “Action movies, but only if they have a compelling storyline, which is actually pretty rare. The occasional documentary, mostly ones about animals and nature.”

“Why are you telling me what kinds of movies you like?” Yosuke asked, trying not to trip on any of the stairs while still looking sideways to read Saki’s face. 

“If you get to know me better, you won’t have to make assumptions, and then next time you won’t make the same mistake.” 

“Next…” Yosuke said slowly before lighting up. “Next time?!”  

“Yeah. It’s the least I can do after making you put up with me.”

“Oh, that’s all?” Yosuke asked, realizing once again that he shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up. 

“No, that’s not all,” Saki said, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better, outside of work. It seems like maybe I made some wrong assumptions about you too…”

Yosuke smiled at that, but it quickly faded as he asked, “But wait, you’re still willing to hang out with me even though you know how I, er…  _ feel?” _

As they arrived at the platform at the top of the stairs, Saki paused to take a good look at him and said, “Sure. After all, I knew how you felt about me before I said yes to going out tonight, so what’s the difference? You’re pretty obvious, Hana-chan,” she finished with that spirited, teasing grin of hers. 

“Ugh, seriously?” Yosuke groaned, nearly wilting in embarrassment. “You make me seem like the most uncool guy ever, Senpai.”

“I wouldn’t call you cool, necessarily. But I’ve always found you interesting. And like I always tell anyone who might say otherwise, you’re a good guy.”

“Heh, you’re kinda killing me here,” Yosuke said weakly, dismally wondering if his cheeks were hot enough at this point to fry an egg on. 

Tossing her hair over her shoulder and starting to walk forward without him, Saki said, “Oh, but don’t try and make any weird moves on me, because I don’t feel the same way about you yet.”

“Yet… Yet?!” Yosuke whisper-yelled to himself,  _ sure _ he had heard that wrong.

“Hey, I thought you weren’t going to let me go home alone in the dark!” Saki called back to him.

“Ah, sorry!” he exclaimed, willing his body to move forward and once again returning to her side to wait for the train. “Hey, so the movie I actually wanted to see tonight was a comedy. Do you wanna see that next time? I’ll even not pay for your ticket if you want.” 

“Oh, no, you’re definitely paying,” Saki said. “Your family’s store  _ is _ putting my family’s store out of business, after all.” 

“You don’t have to put it like that, sheesh!” Yosuke cried, turning his body away from her to hide his face and his further descent into shame.

Then Saki tugged on his elbow, causing him to look over his shoulder at her.  

“I was just  _ kidding,” _ she said, looking both exasperated and amused. “We’re on the same side, remember? Like-minded comrades.”

“Right,” Yosuke agreed automatically before looking down at her hand that was still on his elbow. “Well, even if you  _ are _ kidding, there’s no way in hell I’m not paying for you now.” 

Saki giggled, and for the first time all day, Yosuke felt like he could relax. 

On the way home, they discussed a lot of things they’d never talked about before: their favorite movies, random likes and dislikes, and whether or not they saw themselves leaving Inaba after graduation. Eventually, toward the end of their walk through Inaba, they even discussed some of the things that had been bothering Saki, including being the one to find Ms. Yamano’s body and then getting interrogated by some creepy cop down at the police station. 

Yosuke couldn’t blame her for feeling out of sorts after something traumatizing like that (not that he really blamed her before), and he silently vowed to himself to be the kind of person Saki could always feel comfortable sharing her troubles with. 

A little ways beyond the outskirts of the shopping district, they said their goodbyes for the night, and while Yosuke was gradually learning not to get overly eager when it came to her, he could have sworn there was  _ something _ in the shy little smile she gave him as they parted ways. 

In any case, now that he’d gotten to see more of the real Saki, he very much still liked her—liked her even more, actually. He didn’t have to guess where he stood with her, which in its own way was kind of nice, and they really did have a lot in common. She had opened up to him, and she was still willing to hang out with him despite everything, so who was he to complain? It was honestly a lot more progress than he would have realistically expected from a single outing together. 

Plus, there was still that little spark of hope that she might come to return his feelings one day, and as he walked home, blushing all over again as he remembered the kind things she had said about him and all the little smiles she had granted him, he decided that was more than enough to hold onto for now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say I’d be updating this story between working on other fics, and I’ve posted like 8 fics between this chapter and the last one, so… go read my other stuff too. XD


End file.
